LEADING EDUCATORS WILL SUPPORT BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS’ EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN MATH INSTRUCTIONPartnership will expand math content experts’ opportunities to accelerate growth

August 27, 2019

BALTIMORE, MD - This fall, Leading Educators will launch a partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools to strengthen the district’s capacity for continuous growth in math.

This partnership will strengthen City Schools’ district math team and Academic Content Leads’ (ACLs) support to middle school teachers as they use the Eureka math curriculum. Strong professional learning opportunities and high-quality instructional materials empower teachers to bring engaging lessons to life that help students gain the skills, knowledge, and experiences they need to thrive in school and in life. City Schools has established a strong foundation of teacher leadership and collaborative learning that holds potential for accelerating the success of black, Latinx, and economically-disadvantaged learners. This initiative stems from City Schools’ Blueprint for Success, a strategy designed to help students develop the knowledge and skills to meet their future aspirations.

During the first year, Leading Educators will design professional learning cycles for 6-8th grade teachers mapped to the Eureka math curriculum. School-based content experts will use these resources to facilitate recurring learning and planning for their peers based on student data and teacher practice evidence. Together, Leading Educators and City Schools will provide instructional leadership training and coaching for three pilot schools, observing these activities to make design adjustments before expansion to additional school sites. City Schools staff will lead these design, training, and coaching activities with eight additional schools by the second year with Leading Educators supporting with co-design, shadowing, and feedback.

Leading Educators has a strong reputation for developing scalable, equity-centric instructional approaches that connect high-quality curriculum and aligned professional learning. Previous and ongoing partnerships with districts including DC Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools have strengthened conditions for teacher growth, expanding teachers’ access to opportunities to build comfort using high-quality instructional materials. Student achievement has accelerated as a result. This partnership with City Schools will work toward similar outcomes on a two-year timeline, paving a path toward effective improvement options for school systems that maximize existing resources.

Janise Lane, Executive Director of Teaching at Learning at City Schools shared, “We are excited by this opportunity to partner with Leading Educators to maximize our professional learning in math. As we continue to build momentum for change in ELA, we now are granted the same opportunity in math classrooms. While the high-quality curriculum has ensured a foundation for equity in our classrooms, we can now ensure, through professional learning, that the implementation is providing accelerated outcomes for each and every student in City Schools.”

Chong-Hao Fu, CEO at Leading Educators, shared, “Baltimore City Public Schools is on the forefront of so many incredible innovations in improving educational equity - from deep commitments to accelerating students’ opportunities in literacy to adopting continuous improvement practices - and we know this partnership will help students and teachers alike to rise to great heights.”

This partnership is made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Professional Learning Partnerships Initiative, an effort to advance professional learning (PL) services which will support the equitable implementation of high-quality instructional materials. Collaborative design will begin in October with a planned roll-out of school-based support to pilot schools in January 2020.

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Leading Educators is helping education leaders build sustainable environments where teachers and students thrive, igniting the potential for exponential impact in schools and across districts. We partner with states, districts, and public charter networks to design curriculum-based learning and support structures that create the conditions for continuous improvements in teaching across their schools--helping teachers create excellent and equitable student experiences every day. www.leadingeducators.org